I purchased my first Big Green Egg From Barbeques Galore in the Summer of 1999. I really had no idea of what it was or how it worked but I liked their motto: "World's best smoker and grill"

The store where I purchased it did not mention accessories so I ended up with nothing but the Big Green Egg and a free bag of lump charcoal.

When it was delivered there was only one place where I could set it, directly on my deck.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I needed a table of some kind. So I built one that would accommodate my new Big Green Egg and my old gas grill.

By then ceramic cooking had already become a hobby. I also discovered the Big Green Egg home page and Forum (chat room for Eggheads) and the hobby quickly became an adventure that could only get better as I learned more about this wonderful cooking device.

It was also becoming increasingly apparant that I would eventually purchase another Big Green Egg and most likely need a full outdoor kitchen to house them. Meanwhile, I moved the cooking center to a more convenient location against the house. We even added a small Egg to the cooking center.

Our back porch and deck was quickly becoming the focus of our entertainment and we were very pleased with how it looked.

This arrangement was fine until one day in 2006 we learned that another Egghead's house burned because of a burning ember that somehow blew into his garage from his driveway. That was enough for us to act on finding a new place for the Eggs away from the house. So we decided to build the long-needed outdoor kitchen.

Sometime between 1999 and 2001 we became regulars on the Big Green Egg Forum and posted under the names Spring Chicken (me) and Spring Hen (my Sweetie). And we cooked a lot of chicken on the Egg. With all this talk of Chickens and Hens, we decided to call our little piece of Heaven, The Chicken Ranch. Yes, we are aware of the infamous Chicken Ranch in Lagrange, Texas, and subject of the movie, "Best Little Whorehouse In Texas."  We have a lot of fun with that name. So it was only natural that we name our new outdoor kitchen The Chicken Coop.

It took us well over a year to build, mostly because I was suffering from a number of medical problems, including a heart attack on January 18, 2007, but I kept at it and finally completed it in July 2007. I say "completed" but actually it's still a work in progress.

Here's what it looks like today.

Constructing The Coop

When we finally decided to build the outdoor kitchen two important factors came into play: limited budget and I really wanted to build it myself.

Being a hobbiest woodworker I decided to build it with what I knew something about... Wood. Yes, wood, from the ground up.

I had no plan except what I had in my head. So I started digging holes for the foundation supports. I know it would have been easier to have someone pour a slab but then that would mean I had to have outside help. I stayed with the wood decking.

Here are some early construction photos.